The acid-soluble nucleotides of mature pea seeds.

Although there are several reports concerned with the nucleotides of seedlings (e.g. Bergkvist, 1956, 1957; Sebesta & gorm, 1959; Abdel-Wahab & El-Kinawi, 1959, 1960; Cherry & Hageman, 1961), little is known of the free nucleotides of mature seeds. The aims of the work described in this paper are to identify the major nucleotide components in mature pea seeds, to estimate their relative concentrations and to examine the seeds for significant change in nucleotide pattern during storage. The metabolism of mature seeds is especially interesting in that they respire, albeit at a very low rate, over long periods of storage with little other detectable metabolic activity.